E-Cig Inflight Ban Challenged

The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association are suing the Department of Transportation over its rule banning the use of electronic cigarettes on flights.

A House panel approved an amendment to a long-term reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration earlier this year that would have banned vaping on planes, despite protest from Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), who puffed on a vape pen during the markup to show his colleagues that there is no burning, smoke, or combustion. The rule was issued in March and recently went into effect.

The groups’ argument is that although DOT has the authority to prohibit smoking on planes, it does not have the right to ban e-cigarettes because the devices do not actually emit smoke. CEI’s Marc Scribner has said, “Congress never gave regulators the power to prohibit e-cigarette use aboard aircraft. The Department of Transportation is inventing authority it clearly does not have. Anyone concerned about government overreach should be worried by this abuse of power.”

The Transportation Department has said the rule was meant to clarify any confusion about smoking and vaping, and some airlines had already moved to ban e-cigarettes on flights.

Supporters of the regulation say e-cigarettes should be treated no differently than their tobacco counterparts when it comes to prohibiting them on flights, and have also expressed concerns about the devices exploding in passengers’ luggage and causing small fires.